Islamic schools look to modernization<\/p>\n
By Mochtar Buchori<\/p>\n
JAKARTA (JP): For a sufficiently large part of the Moslem
\ncommunity in Indonesia, pesantren (the traditional Koranic
\nschool) and madrasah (the more recent version of Koranic school)
\nstill constitute the preferred institutions where parents send
\ntheir children for formal education.<\/p>\n
The reason for this tradition is either pedagogical,
\npolitical, or both. Whatever the reason, it has been generally
\nbelieved that the strong Islamic education offered at pesantren
\nand madrasah have made students capable of restraining themselves
\nfrom undesirable behavior, such as getting involved in students'
\nbrawls, the use and trafficking of drugs, or any other delinquent
\nbehavior. This is believed to be the positive aspect of the
\neducation in these schools.<\/p>\n
The negative aspect is that these two institutions are
\ngenerally considered rather \"outdated\" in their curricula and
\ntheir educational practices. That is whenever they are compared
\nto what is being carried out in schools with no official
\naffiliation to Islam or any other religion.<\/p>\n
It has been mentioned, for example, that science education
\nis very weak in the madrasah schools, and almost non-existent in
\ntraditional pesantren institutions. Modern educational
\ninfrastructure and devices like a regularly updated library,
\nlanguage laboratory, science laboratory, and computer center can
\nseldom be found in pesantren and madrasah. These particular
\nweaknesses put graduates of pesantren and madrasah at a
\ndisadvantage when they have to compete against graduates of non-
\nreligious schools for entrance to higher education, and for
\nemployment in the modern sector of the economy.<\/p>\n
To correct this weakness, many pesantren institutions and
\nmadrasah schools have embarked upon efforts to modernize
\nthemselves. They believe that by modernizing themselves they will
\nbe able to eliminate the handicaps faced by their students in
\nsociety. They firmly believe that on the whole their students
\nhave the capacity, as far as intelligence and work ethos are
\nconcerned, to compete against graduates from non-religious
\nschools.<\/p>\n
It is the lack of basic knowledge in modern subjects and
\ncompetence in the arts of inductive thinking that make them
\nperform poorly in these two competitions.<\/p>\n
Thus far, two steps that have been most frequently adopted to
\nimplement this modernization idea are the introduction (in the
\ncase of pesantren) or the expansion (in the case of madrasah) of
\nmathematics and natural sciences in the curriculum, and the
\nenrichment and improvement of English language instruction. It is
\nthese curricular and didactical features which markedly
\ndifferentiate the \"modern\" from the \"traditional\" pesantren and
\nmadrasah.<\/p>\n
Are these two steps alone capable of propelling pesantren and
\nmadrasah into modern educational institutions?<\/p>\n
The answer depends, of course, on how the expression \"modern
\neducational institutions\" is defined. If this term is defined
\nsuperficially to denote educational institutions which merely
\nexhibit the trappings of modern schools -- modern buildings,
\nmodern curricular, instruments and the mechanism of modern
\nteaching methods, etc.-- then these two steps can be considered
\nadequate as a start towards educational modernization. But if it
\nis given a deeper meaning, and meant to refer to educational
\ninstitutions which systematically train students to understand
\nthe meaning and the complexities of modern life, and to give them
\nthe basic capability to contribute to the solutions of problems
\nthat confront humankind in this modern time -- then \"modernizing\"
\nan educational institution requires much more than these two
\nsteps.<\/p>\n
Whatever definition one prefers to employ in this regard, any
\npesantren or madrasah wishing to modernize itself has to define
\nfor itself clearly and unambiguously the kind of educational
\nmodernity it wants to launch. It is this decision that will
\neventually dictate whether or not improvements in the instruction
\nof mathematics, science, and English language will suffice as
\nvehicles toward modern Islamic education in Indonesia.<\/p>\n
Underneath this pedagogical question lies a philosophical
\nquestion that hitherto has not been satisfactorily answered yet.
\nIt is the question about the kind of modernity that the
\nIndonesian people in general want, and the kind of modernity that
\nIndonesian Moslems in particular want.<\/p>\n
Can we arrive at general and particular models of modernity
\nthat are really congruent?<\/p>",
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